The Trailer for Orson Welles’ Lost Film, Finished by Netflix, Is Here

It’s still hard to believe this is real, but here is the trailer for The Other Side of the Wind, Orson Welles’ never-finished final film. Shot over a period of years near the end of Welles’ life, the project was left abandoned when he passed away in 1985. There were fights over the rights to the footage, and then years spent piecing together what Welles had made. Thanks to a push from Netflix, the thing is finally done and we will get to see it. 40 years later, here it is.

And here’s the official synopsis:

Surrounded by fans and skeptics, grizzled director J.J. "Jake" Hannaford (a revelatory John Huston) returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his comeback: a career summation that can only be the work of cinema's most adventurous filmmaker, Orson Welles.

It looks surreal, bizarre, slightly disjointed, and incredible. It also doesn’t look much like any other Orson Welles film (although visually I do see some stylistic similarities to F For Fake, the brilliant documentary Welles made around this same period). Mostly, I just can’t wait to see it. The Other Side of the Wind debuts on Netflix and “in select theaters” on November 2. Netflix will also have a new documentary about Welles, They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, from Morgan Neville, the director of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?